


i’ve been dreaming of a true love’s kiss

by ghostlygalaxies



Category: Legacies (TV 2018)
Genre: Character Study, Epic Love, F/F, Hosie, hosie endgame!, legacies 2x16, princess josie saves herself, retelling of the finale with hope & josie’s thoughts, they’re in love, this is rushed i literally just wrote it after the finale
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-27
Updated: 2020-03-27
Packaged: 2021-02-28 21:41:03
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,391
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23340370
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ghostlygalaxies/pseuds/ghostlygalaxies
Summary: josie saltzman confronts her darkness at long last and finds the courage to save herself, with a little bit of help from hope.aka: josie and hope both get their fairytale and epic loves they’ve dreamed of, respectfully, even if it takes josie masquerading as a pig and literally defeating her demons.*lowercase intended, sorry if that bugs anyone!
Relationships: Hope Mikaelson/Josie Saltzman
Comments: 8
Kudos: 172





	1. change the story

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> this chapter is the build up to the hosie-filled chapter 2!! in this one i just wanted to delve into josie’s thoughts and emotions more and retell the story with more detail, and the next chapter is 100% hosie content (:

“um... i... i was the pig,” josie practically squeaks, and it’s as painfully ironic as it sounds.

“i thought that if i disguised myself the darkness would leave you alone,” she explains. 

hope short circuits for a second—and rightfully so—before it all starts to click. 

“ _YOU_ were the pig?” hope asks, incredulously, and all josie can do is nod. hope then blurts out, “you do realize you said some really patronizing and–and sexist things to me?!”

they don’t mention what else josie the pig said, but it hangs in the air around them. it’s painfully clear that josie didn’t want hope to know it was her. 

josie rushes to explain herself, “i know, i know! i just didn’t want you to suspect it was me because i need you to leave, okay?” she looks at hope with a pleading, desperate expression, “i don’t want you to get hurt.” 

hope shakes her head in disbelief. “josie,” she says, determinedly, “i’m not going to leave you behind.” 

josie’s heartbeat begins to quicken. “no you don’t understand! i can’t have somebody else get hurt because of me.” she’s so guilty, so nervous, and it shows in the way her eyes water and her voice shakes. 

but hope refuses to give in. she shakes her head and promises, “no one will.” 

they’re interrupted. she isn’t sure when they started holding hands, but josie drops one of her hands from hope’s grasp as she turns her head frantically at the loud sound of magic. the wolf transforms into josie’s alter ego in a gust of black smoke, and hope pulls josie behind her. they let go of each other as hope grips the axe close and josie regretfully cowers behind her, a haunted look on her face. 

she refuses to acknowledge that this evil is part of her and hates herself for what she’s done. she can’t be the one to defeat her—josie doesn’t believe she’ll be able to. still, she never asked for it to be hope, either, and now she’s left in a lose-lose situation. dread fills her body. 

“i love that you thought it would be that simple,” dark josie sneers. 

“oh my god, run!” josie cries, and she hope run out of the cottage as quickly as they can. 

“we have to keep moving!” hope cries as they run, moonlight illuminating the path ahead. 

the forest twinkles around them despite the darkness. it would almost be beautiful if it wasn’t home to such evil. 

josie comes to a halt. “it doesn’t matter, we’re never going to get away from her,” she says in defeat. 

they stop at an archway in the castle. fire crackles in a lantern beside them, and overgrown ivy crawls and bends across the walls. there’s a stained glass painting in one of the windows, like the prophecy from beauty and the beast. 

“jo,” hope pleads, “while you’ve been trapped in here, she’s been rampaging in the real world, okay? she even tried to merge with lizzie!” 

josie stops and turns in shock. “oh my god, is she okay?” she gasps. her worst fear come to life. 

“for now! that’s why we need to stop her!”

josie knows this. _she knows_. but she isn’t strong enough to do it and it hurts, knowing that too. she sits down on the cold cobblestone ground and hugs her knees against her chest. 

“she’s more powerful than i am,” she admits, feeling pathetic. 

“ _jo_ ,” hope practically cries out in disbelief, her heart breaking. she takes a seat in front of josie before continuing, “she _is_ you... some part of you. you can control her somehow. i– i don’t know how, but...” 

hope mentions how landon would have an idea about how it relates to psychology, not meaning to bring him up but doing it anyway. 

still miserable, josie agrees, rubbing her shoulder, anxious and doubtful. maybe it was for the best that he left her, too, before the darkness really took shape. but why is hope still here? why did she go through the trouble of getting here in the first place? 

“pretty messed up subconscious you’ve got here by the way,” hope comments. 

“are we surprised?” josie replies sardonically, and hope playfully rolls her eyes and shrugs. 

“my mom used to read us fairytales for bedtime stories,” josie explains, “it was so calming. it was good guys, bad guys, very clear rules that you had to follow. it all made sense, unlike my life.” 

“well this fairytale sucks,” hope says, looking at josie with a challenging expression, waiting for an answer. she’s trying to poke holes in this fantasy, trying to see how she can show josie how wrong she is. 

“it’s accurate,” josie laments in the same self-deprecating way, shaking her head, “i’m either the powerful petty bitch or the good weak victim.”

“that’s a story that you’re telling yourself,” hope replies, a small smile on her face that’s reflected in her voice and in her kind expression. 

“i mean, your subconscious made a fairytale,” she glances at the scene around them before returning her attention to josie, “that the good you is weak and the powerful you is evil.” the look on her face is so certain, so caring. she wants josie to understand. josie stares back. “tell yourself a different story.” 

josie blinks, processing, but suddenly hope is ripped away from her. they should’ve kept moving like hope had said, but yet again, josie messed everything up. 

josie stares on in horror before being thrown back by dark josie, who croons, “boooring! let’s fight.” 

hope jumps back up and flings her axe, only for dark josie to catch it. 

“that’s strike one,” she says, holding the offending axe in front of her. 

hope tries to do a spell, but it’s absorbed by dark josie, “ah, thanks for the extra magic! that’s strike two!”

“josie, you can fight her,” hope says, unwaveringly. she’s so full of certainty, so full of belief in josie. but josie can only shake her head in response. she’s petrified. 

“that’s strike three!” dark josie throws hope against the wall, and all hope can say is, “josie! change the story!” as she’s slowly turned into stone. 

now josie is all alone with the darkest part of herself. she wants so badly to believe hope is right, but she’s too afraid. 

she runs back to the cabin and grabs the knife before being caught off guard as dark josie calls out, “boo!” laughing as josie once again cowers against the wall. 

“please,” josie cries out. 

her darkness watches on with amusement. “i hate you,” she begins, words dripping with venom, “you’re so weak and vulnerable. the kind of girl who’s so quiet that her father and mother forget about her in the chaos of lizzie.” 

each insult hits her like a sucker punch, making josie’s heart ache more than she thought was possible. 

“the kind of girl penelope won’t fight for anymore. the kind of girl landon breaks up with in _one speech_! the kind of girl who’s destined to lose the merge!” even with her heart in pieces, josie holds up the knife with a trembling hand. dark josie knocks it away with a flick of her hand. 

“you needed me,” dark josie continues, “because without me you would’ve never survived. this is what being strong looks like.”

but it’s not. _how could_ this _be strong?_ josie has seen strength, true strength. hope’s words come to mind, reminding her that this is all in her head and that the real world isn’t so black and white. strength is not evil. 

“i was afraid of being strong,” josie realizes, gears finally turning in her head at the admission, “i thought being strong meant hurting lizzie—“

but was she strong, really, when she defied her sister and sent her flying in their room? or was she acting out?

“—or being like kai. i told myself that being powerful meant being evil,” she turns, at last, to face her demons in the most literal sense, “but it doesn’t.” 

she begins to take a stand as she rises from the ground.

“ _hope_ is strong, and she’s good.”

dark josie looks on with a fiery gaze but josie isn’t deterred this time, “you made a story— _i_ made a story where i was powerless, but that’s not true! because i can change the story.” 

it’s always been there: that power, that fire. josie has always been strong. she’s always been stronger than she’s given herself credit for. she’s seeing herself in a different light, now, and her darkness sees it too. 

“enough!” dark josie yells, but it’s too late. josie knows her secrets, and now the game is changing. 

“i’m not afraid of you anymore,” she says, more confident than she’s felt in the longest time, “because i’m holding the axe.” there’s a fire in her eyes that’s been missing, a fire she’s been trying so hard to find. 

dark josie binds her to the cabin with a spell but it’s no use because josie is one-upping her with every move. she’s not going to run this time and she’s not going to back down.

“i’m not trapped because we’re not in the cabin anymore. and if you use your magic against me, it hurts you too.” 

josie’s been restored to her princess glory, the way she’s meant to be inside of her subconscious. 

“but most importantly,” says princess josette as she stares down her darkness, “you’re not wearing armor anymore.” 

fear is evident in dark josie’s eyes, and before she can even react, josie plunges the axe in her chest and sends her to the stone bed josette had lied on before when she tried to protect her kingdom from the darkness... a poetic ending to this tale. 

“it’s over,” she tells herself. 

“it’ll never be over,” dark josie fires back in desperation, “as long as you have black magic in you, i will always find a way back.”

but there’s an axe in her chest and the princess has won, this time; _she’s saved herself._

“we’ll see,” the wise princess replies before sealing the deal with a kiss on the forehead, chasing away her demons. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thank you all for reading!! i hope you’re all staying safe during these scary times, and i hope you enjoyed this story :)
> 
> follow me on my socials if you want:  
> @nebulxvs on twitter  
> @ghostlygalaxies on pinterest & tumblr


	2. epic fairytale love

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> here it is: the second part!! i really wanted to add more and make this as blatantly hosie as possible so here you go!

josie knows she’s bound to wake up now that she’s won, but she can’t wake up yet, not when the person who’d saved her is currently a statue. hope hadn’t given up on her and there was no way she would do the same.

she rushes toward hope, holding the skirt of her dress up and cursing her subconscious for making her wear heels. josie wracks her mind for a spell before remembering the lesson hope had taught her: this is josie’s story. 

“hope isn’t stone anymore, she’s free,” josie commands, and watches as it goes into motion immediately, the stone crumbling and falling to the ground. 

hope almost falls, but josie catches her at the last moment. she has control of this place now. 

hope searches josie’s eyes with her own, looking for confirmation for what she knows is true. “you did it,” she says in a breathy tone, beaming proudly, “i knew you could do it.” 

hope’s smile is infectious and, really, if josie’s being honest, she’s proud of herself, so josie mirrors her expression genuinely. 

they stay like that for a while, smiling and staring into each other’s eyes. (they seem to do this quite a lot).

“thank you for believing in me,” princess josette says at last, after a full minute of savoring the moment. 

“always,” hope replies. 

josie realizes that she’s still holding hope and blushes before standing up and offering the girl her hand, which she takes without hesitation. 

hope brushes herself off one handed, her other hand still interlocked with josie’s. josie can’t help but look down at their intertwined fingers, marveling in the fact that they always seem to find themselves in this position. 

“so,” hope begins with a teasing smile, “we never really talked about things before we were running away from the evil queen.” 

josie furrows her brows in confusion before it hits her, but she plays oblivious because she doesn’t want to say it aloud. “things…?” she settles for, waiting on hope to elaborate. 

hope raises an eyebrow before sighing as if to say, _“you’re really making me say it?”_ but she says it anyway, “you were the pig.” 

josie nods, “ah, yes. _that_ thing. i was.” and then she barrels on in a rush of anxious energy, “i’m still so sorry about all of those rude things i said, i promise i don’t actually think of you that way at all! i’m not sexist or anything i just really wanted you to be safe and i got caught up in playing the character—” 

hope can only smile in amusement. even with her newfound confidence, josie saltzman hasn’t changed. 

“it’s okay, jo,” she says, a smile in her voice, “i forgave you as soon as you explained yourself before. i’m not mad. i actually wanted to talk about something else that the pig—you—said, if that’s alright with you.”

she’s asking for permission, in that kind and thoughtful hope mikaelson way that no one would expect from the powerful tribrid but josie has come to know so well. and it’s this that reminds josie immediately of what hope’s referring to, because she respects josie’s comfort levels so much and would never want to go too far or breach their trust. 

a blush covers her cheeks completely as she squeaks, “oh. that.” 

“i didn’t mean—” she starts to deflect it, because josie has always pushed away her feelings. she never lets herself be completely open, never speaks her mind without regretting it. but hope’s eyes almost look sad, now, and josie just learned this big lesson about self worth and beginning to realize what she deserves and how being strong isn’t a bad thing and she thinks that, maybe, she can be strong now. 

“no, no, that’s not true,” josie swallows, sobering herself for this emotional revelation she wasn’t expecting, “i want so badly to tell you i was just playing the part. it’s kind of funny that even in my own head i’m pretending to be someone else, but, when i asked you to kiss me, that was me asking. i’ll admit i did get caught up in being the rude pig filled to the brim with toxic masculinity in order to get you to leave, but that part was me. 

“and i know how horribly selfish it was, to ask you to do that when i was trying to get you to leave but i can’t help believing in all of this,” she gestures with her free hand to the fairytale scene around them. the sun has risen and the darkness has lifted and it’s absolutely beautiful.

she looks back at hope, who is respectfully silent, letting josie have the time to speak her truth at long last, and continues, “i guess i couldn’t help but want to be the princess deserving of true love’s kiss. and i know how awful that is of me, to put that on you then and even now, knowing that you’re in a committed relationship, but my crush on you never really went away. 

“you asked me if i had a crush on you that night like you couldn’t believe it, like you were dreaming. i just remember wondering how you could even question it. i mean, look at you. you came into my own subconscious to rescue me, even after i did all of these horrible things, and you never once gave up on me. you saved me, hope, just like you always do. i can’t help but want a cliché fairytale love that’s so unconditional like that.” 

josie stares down at her feet, embarrassed at all that she’s said. this all was meant to stay inside her head, but, what better place to let it all out than literally inside her head? it’s tragically poetic. 

hope squeezes her hand. “look at me,” she says in a whisper, her voice warm and encouraging and not at all commanding. josie can’t help but look up and stare directly into those kind eyes, wondering if her pupils have widened or if it’s just a trick of the light. 

“i first want to let you know that you’re not intruding on anything because i broke up with landon,” hope begins in that same small and kind tone, letting the news settle in the air around them. josie’s eyes widen in shock. 

“yeah. i had thought a lot about that choice i made, and how landon was spending time learning how to use his new abilities, and i just realized that we weren’t as fit for each other as we thought. i felt obligated to choose him, but i couldn’t, and we both need time apart to come to terms with how we fit as separate heroes with separate agendas. we had our time, but honestly, i think we work better as friends. i told him this, and he agreed with me. i also explained that i felt guilty about my feelings for someone else… and he said he sort of saw it coming, which was a little embarrassing.” hope chuckles and rubs her neck with her free hand before her eyes find josie’s again and see the sad look in them that she knows all too well.

“it was you, jo,” hope tells her, not breaking eye contact, “i had— _have_ —feelings for you.”

“and you’re right. you deserve an epic, fairytale love with someone who loves you unconditionally. what you’re not right about, though, is giving me all of the credit. you’re the one who saved yourself in the end, with a little encouragement from me. i want you to always believe in yourself like that, like i do. and if you need me to remind you of how strong and capable you are, i will. i want to be the one to give you a love like that, if you’ll let me. 

“because it’s not just me who makes you stronger, josie. you’ve helped me in ways you can’t even imagine. you broke me out of my shell and you’ve always had my back. i only told this to lizzie, which, admittedly, might have been a little lie, but i had a crush on you too. what i lied about was the fact that it was for a week when we were fourteen. the truth is that it lasted much longer than that, but i didn’t really know it. i’ve had feelings for you, lingering in the back of my mind when i wasn’t aware of it, for so long. they never went away. 

“when you told me you burned my room down, all i could think of was that damn crush and how everything would have been different if i had read that letter,” she admits with a laugh, and josie’s eyes twinkle with mirth. her crush was reciprocated. is reciprocated. there’s nothing between her and her fairytale now. 

“so. how about you ask me again, princess,” hope suggests, mischievous but not teasing. she’s serious. she wants this. she wants it to be special. 

“you should try kissing me,” josie says, and this time her voice isn’t small. she’s certain. “you have my consent,” she adds with a playful smile. 

and that’s all that’s hope needs as she closes the distance between them, letting go of josie’s hand only to run her fingers through the girl’s soft curls, their lips meeting so delicately. josie accidentally siphons from hope, and she begins to pull away but hope just laughs, delighted. it’s magical. 

they open their eyes and there are fireflies around them. the sky is painted in beautiful shades of pink, orange, and red, and it’s unclear if it’s day or night but it’s beautiful. josie had brought them to an open field near a shimmering lake, and hope swears she heard fireworks going off at some point. 

it’s josie’s story, after all. 

they both know they have to get back and that everyone is likely wondering why they’re still lost in josie’s subconscious, but the girls just want to live in this moment for a little while. they have all the time in the world, if they want it. 

**Author's Note:**

> thank you for reading!!! i’ve wanted to write hosie for so long and now that we’re in quarantine i have no excuse. so, here we are! returning to fic writing after so long because i just had to. 
> 
> hope (pun surprisingly not intended) you’re all staying safe during this crisis and during the hiatus 😭😭
> 
> follow me on my socials if you want:  
> @nebulxvs on twitter  
> @ghostlygalaxies on pinterest & tumblr


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